[Terrapreta] wildfire

[lou gold]

yes, i've heard of coppicing. good system for some species.

i guess i've just been too close to actual wildfire to accept your terms of
"smolder" or "friendly fire".

wildfire is wildfire. in some places it is a very important part of the
process of diversing the age and species of trees and vegetation, especially
in areas that were originally "colonized" by "monocrops" of douglas fir. all
of this is part of a completely "natural" process.

in general, wildfires behave erratically, depending on the conditions
(humidity, smoke cover, wind and aspect). the process includes many
different fire behaviors from smoldering to roaring inferno. the result is a
forest mosaic that greatly promotes biodiversity.

like nature as a whole, fire is neither friendly nor unfriendly. it is what
is is.




On Nov 10, 2007 11:13 PM, David Yarrow <dyarrow at nycap.rr.com> wrote:

>  ever hear of "coppicing"?  vegetative growth is quite powerful, and
> rooted below ground.  many trees and species easily overcome having their
> trunk girdled; others do not.  but true, for an evergreen gymnosperm species
> to sprout is more challenging than for most broad-leaved trees.
> challenging, not impossible.
>
> on my porch i have a pitch pine cookie -- cross-section slice from a 130
> year old tree in old maids woods -- 21 acres of old growth hemlock, pine &
> oak just west of schenectady, NY.  on the inside of the trunk is a fractured
> cavity lined with charred wood.  our best guess is the tree was struck by
> lightning, but in any event, caught fire, burned badly, recovered, sealed
> the burn, encapsulated the wound, and kept on growing -- another 80 years.
>
> pitch pine are ancient at 100 years, routinely regenerate by fire, and
> occupy niches of infertile soils -- sandy, rocky, exposed.  pitch pine sap
> was harvested to make turpentine.  the albany pine bush occupies coarse
> sandy soils deposited on the bottom of a post-glacial lake that formed
> 10,000 years ago.  this nutrient-poor ecosystem is home to several rare
> plant, insect, frog, and turtle species.
>
> these soils definitely needs carbon, nitrogen and charcoal, but when the
> was invaded by root-sprouting, nitrogen-fixing black locust (legume family),
> the pine bush preserve staff spent thousands having the black locust removed
> by machines.  except along the i-90 NYS thruway, where they still run
> rampant and bloom profusely every late spring.  black locust makes
> excellent, dense firewood that burns hot.
>
> at any rate, "wildfire" evokes images of a tall, hot, intense wall of
> flames consuming everything in its path.  for our work, "smolder" is a much
> more apt term for what we can call "friendly fire" in nature.
>
> David Yarrow
> "If yer not forest, yer against us."
> Turtle EyeLand Sanctuary
> 44 Gilligan Road, East Greenbush, NY 12061
> dyarrow at nycap.rr.com
> www.championtrees.org
> www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
> www.citizenre.com/dyarrow/
> www.farmandfood.org
> www.SeaAgri.com
>
> "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times,
> if one only remembers to turn on the light."
> -Albus Dumbledore
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Sean K. Barry <sean.barry at juno.com>
> *To:* David Yarrow <dyarrow at nycap.rr.com> ; terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
> *Sent:* Saturday, November 10, 2007 6:53 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Terrapreta] wildfire
>
>  Hi David, Larry, and others,
>
> Don't big trees like the giant Coastal Redwoods and big Douglas Firs
> survive crown fires?  I heard one in a tour out in California or Oregon in
> the Coastal Redwoods that you could burn everything off the outside of those
> trees all the way to the top and they would survive and re-sprout new growth
> right from the charred trunks.
>
> Just wondering?
>
> Regards,
>
> SKB
>
> ...
>
> big old trees will normally survive a cool ground fire of wet, green
> growth.  a high temperature crown fire fed by dense dry debris at ground
> level kills everything except the hardest seeds.
>
> David Yarrow
>
>
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-- 
http://lougold.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/visionshare/sets/
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